Boonsboro's Duncan out with torn ACL

September 18, 2012|By ANDREW MASON | andrewm@herald-mail.com

By Ric Dugan/Staff Photographer

While the Boonsboro girls soccer team was playing North Hagerstown in the semifinals of the Washington County Tournament on Saturday night at North, senior Abby Duncan, the Warriors’ star forward, could only cheer from the sideline.

“It’s definitely hard just watching,” Duncan said. “It’s tough. I haven’t taken a season off since I started playing soccer when I was 3 years old.”

Duncan — a two-time Herald-Mail All-Washington County First Team selection, who led Boonsboro last fall with 14 goals and six assists — is out for the season with a torn ACL in her right knee.

She’s been sidelined with the injury since the early minutes of the Warriors’ season opener against Clear Spring on Aug. 31.

While Duncan is a star in soccer, she’s a superstar in track — probably the greatest high school sprinter in Washington County history. She’s the three-time defending Maryland Class 1A state champion in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes outdoors, the reigning state champ in the 55 indoors and the all-time county record holder in both the 100 (12.09 seconds) and 400 (56.86).

But Duncan, who will have surgery in a few weeks, might not run another high school race. She definitely is out for indoor track and probably most, if not all, of the spring outdoor season as well.

Her outlook remains positive.

“I know it’s not the end of the world, and I know I have a lot of support from my family, my coaches and my community,” she said. “This is a common injury. It happens. It’s just unfortunate that it happened my senior year.

“It’s just a bump in the road. It doesn’t mean that my goals change, that my dreams change.”

Duncan most definitely plans to race again, at an even higher level — NCAA Division I.

“My first goal is to get through this. I’m going to be dedicated to this now. It’s going to be like my new sport,” she said of her rehabilitation. “And then I have to prove to myself that I can be a Division I athlete and succeed at that.

“I know I’m strong enough to do this. I’m going to come back stronger than ever.”

Duncan’s list of college choices includes James Madison, Virginia, East Carolina and UNC-Wilmington.

Right now, though, it’s high school soccer season. And Duncan is a Warrior.

“I just have to be vocal on the sideline and reassure the girls that I’m still here,” she said. “Even though I’m not playing, I’m still a part of this team.

“I still have to embrace the moments or else I’ll have an awful senior year.”